Creating optimized shortcuts

ABSTRACT

An approach for using shortcut input to access or group documents is provided. The input may be mapped to opening or grouping the documents based on user preferences, and the documents may be displayed once the computer system detects the input of the shortcut input.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation Application of pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/536834 filed Nov. 10, 2014.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to manipulation of graphical userinterfaces, and more particularly to the use of shortcuts to manipulategraphical user interfaces.

A graphical user interface (GUI) is a type of interface that allowsusers to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons andvisual indicators. The actions in a GUI are usually performed throughdirect manipulation of the graphical elements. GUIs may be used inoperating computers, phones, tablets, gaming systems, handheld devices,etc.

As a supplement to the GUI system, shortcut commands may allow a user toperform a desired task with a single input, or combination of inputs,that are performed simultaneously, without the need to maneuver throughmultiple menus or screens on the GUI interface. In general shortcutsexist across many platforms, such as, for example computers (e.g. ctrl+cto copy text), and smart phones and tablets (e.g. pressing 2 fingers onthe screen and moving them apart to zoom).

BRIEF SUMMARY

An embodiment of the invention may include a method for operating acomputing device using shortcuts. The method may include a computingdevice that receives user preferences detailing a shortcut input. Thecomputing device may map the shortcut input to one or more documents,based on user preference. The computing device may then detect that theshortcut input has been utilized, and then may display the one or moredocuments associated with that input.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a computer program productfor operating a computing device using shortcuts to receive userpreferences, where computer instructions receive user preferencesdetailing a shortcut input; map the shortcut input to one or moredocuments, based on user preference; detect that the shortcut input hasbeen utilized, and then may display the one or more documents associatedwith that input.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a computer system foroperating a computing device using shortcuts to receive userpreferences, where computer instructions receive user preferencesdetailing a shortcut input; map the shortcut input to one or moredocuments, based on user preference; detect that the shortcut input hasbeen utilized, and then may display the one or more documents associatedwith that input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a shortcut system, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2a is a flowchart illustrating the operations of the shortcutprogram of FIG. 1 in determining what document to display based on ashortcut input, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2b is a flowchart illustrating the operations of the shortcutprogram of FIG. 1 in determining what documents to group based on ashortcut input, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting the hardware components of theshortcut system of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting the document from which subsequentdocuments were opened from, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

Elements of the figures are not necessarily to scale and are notintended to portray specific parameters of the invention. For clarityand ease of illustration, dimensions of elements may be exaggerated. Thedetailed description should be consulted for accurate dimensions. Thedrawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of theinvention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scopeof the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents likeelements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying Figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates shortcut system 100, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. In an example embodiment, shortcut system 100 includesa computing device 110 and a server 140 interconnected via a network130.

In the example embodiment, network 130 is the Internet, representing aworldwide collection of networks and gateways to support communicationsbetween devices connected to the Internet. Network 130 may include, forexample, wired, wireless or fiber optic connections. In otherembodiments, network 130 may be implemented as an intranet, a local areanetwork (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN). In general, network 130 canbe any combination of connections and protocols that will supportcommunications between the computing device 110 and the server 140.

Server 140 may include a website 142 and/or a remote file 144. Server140 may be a desktop computer, a notebook, a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a handheld device, a smart-phone, a thin client, or any otherelectronic device or computing system capable of receiving and sendingdata to and from other computing devices such as computing device 110via network 130. Although not shown, optionally, server 140 can comprisea cluster of web servers executing the same software to collectivelyprocess the requests for the web pages as distributed by a front endserver and a load balancer. In an example embodiment, server 140 is acomputing device that is optimized for the support of websites whichreside on server 140, such as website 142, and for the support ofnetwork requests related to websites which reside on server 140. Server140 is described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3.

Website 142 is a collection of files including, but not limited to, forexample, HTML files, CSS files, XML files, image files and JavaScriptfiles. Website 142 can also include other resources such as audio filesand video files. Remote file 144 is a document located on server 140that can only be accessed through using a network 130. Remote file 144may be, for example, a word processing document, an email, an excelspreadsheet, etc.

Computing device 110 includes shortcut program 122, user preferences 124and user interface 126. In the example embodiment, computing device 110is a desktop computer, a notebook or a laptop computer; however, inother embodiments, computing device 110 may be a smart phone, a tabletcomputer, a handheld device, a thin client, or any other electronicdevice or computing system capable of receiving and sending data to andfrom server 140 via network 130, and capable of operating a graphicaluser interface. Computing device 110 is described in more detail withreference to FIG. 3.

In the example embodiment, user preferences 124 may contain informationthat details preferred shortcut inputs of the user of computing device110. In the example embodiment, user preferences 124 may also includefavorite programs or websites, or desired actions to be taken. Userpreferences 124 are described in further detail below with regard toFIG. 2.

User interface 126 includes components used to receive input from a userand transmit the input to an application residing on computing device110. In an example embodiment, user interface 126 uses a combination oftechnologies and devices, such as device drivers, to provide a platformto enable users of computing device 110 to interact with shortcutprogram 122. In the example embodiment, user interface 126 receivesinput, such as textual input received from a physical input device, suchas a keyboard, via a device driver that corresponds to the physicalinput device.

Shortcut program 122 is a software application or configuration in asoftware application capable of receiving user preferences from a userof computing device 110 via user interface 126. In addition, shortcutprogram 122 is capable of mapping a shortcut input to one or moredocuments based on user preferences 124. Shortcut program 122 may alsobe capable of grouping of one or more documents based on userpreferences 124. The operations and functions of shortcut program 122are described in further detail below with regard to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2a is a flow chart illustrating a first method 200 of the operationof shortcut program 122 in mapping a shortcut input to one or moredocuments based on user preferences 124, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the invention. In an example embodiment, the shortcutprogram 122 is initiated when the operating system is booted (S201). Ina separate embodiment the shortcut program 122 may be fully or partiallyintegrated with a specific application, or applications, and thereforeis initiated when the specific application is initiated (S201). In suchan embodiment, opening of an application may include opening of a webbrowser, an explorer window, a word processing document, an e-mailclient, a spreadsheet, a database application, or any other type ofelectronic interface.

In the example embodiment, shortcut program 122 receives userpreferences 124, by way of inputs from the user of computing device 110via user interface 126 (S202). In another embodiment, defaultpreferences may be stored as user preferences 124. In the exampleembodiment, the user preferences include defined shortcut inputs. Ashortcut input is a single action that may be utilized by a user toaccess a document or several documents without the need for multipleinputs (e.g. multiple mouse clicks/movements to perform a desiredaction). For example, a shortcut input may include a shortcut keystroke(e.g. ctrl+r) on a computer keyboard, a shortcut gesture on amulti-touch screen (e.g. spiral finger swipe), a shortcut movement intoa visual sensor (e.g. winking at a camera on a device), an audio commandinto an audio sensor (e.g. speaking into a microphone), or any othertype of single input into a computer.

In the example embodiment, the user preferences also include desiredresults that correspond to each shortcut input. The desired result to beperformed by the shortcut input may be, for example, opening a documentor a number of documents (e.g. last 10 documents opened, 5 documentscreated by a certain user, all documents located in a certain filelocation). In other embodiments, the desired result may be to return theuser back to a root document or document group within an applicationbeing utilized by a user of computing device 110.

In an example embodiment, shortcut program 122 detects the document(s)specified in user preferences 124 (S204) and maps the location of thedocument(s) to a shortcut input (S206). For example, the shortcutprogram 122 may map with the opening of the 10 favorite webpages of theuser to the shortcut input (e.g. ctrl+shift+o), so that when the userpresses the button combination, the 10 favorite webpages of the user ofcomputing device 110 are opened. In this example, the URL of the 10favorite webpages may be stored in user preferences 124. In a separateembodiment of this example, the shortcut program 122 may communicatewith a web browser to determine the stored favorite webpages, the 10most visited webpages, or any other relevant criterion based on the userpreferences 124.

In an example embodiment, shortcut program 122 detects the shortcutinput being utilized (S208).This may be accomplished by the shortcutprogram 122 communicating with the operating system to determine thatthe shortcut input has been utilized.

In an exemplary embodiment, shortcut program 122 displays or opens themapped document(s) in an active window (S209). The user may then browse,or edit, the opened documents in the appropriate programs.

In another embodiment, the shortcut program 122 may return the user ofcomputing device 110 to a parent folder or document from a sub-folder ordocument that the user navigated to in the document tree, where the useris returned to a folder or document previously in the document branch.In an example scenario of a document tree illustrated by FIG. 3, anemail document D01 is opened. The e-mail document D01, has a spreadsheetD11, a word processing document D12, and a database document D13, all ofwhich are opened. The word processing document D12 contains multiplehyperlinks, and a first webpage D20, a second webpage D22 and a thirdwebpage D24 are opened from the word processing document. From thesecond webpage D22, a user navigates to a first linked webpage D32, andfrom the first linked webpage D32 to a second linked webpage D34. Withthe second linked webpage D34 as the active location, in an exampleembodiment where the user wishes to return to the root document of thedocument branch, the desired result from using a shortcut input would beto open the email document D01 in the active window. In anotherembodiment where the user wishes to return to the original document inthe program being operated, the desired result from using a shortcutinput would be to open the second webpage D22 in the document branch.

FIG. 2b is a flow chart illustrating a second method 220 of theoperations of shortcut program 122 in mapping a shortcut input to thegrouping of, and possible organization, of open documents in accordancewith an example embodiment of the invention. In an example embodiment,the program is initiated when the operating system is booted (S221). Ina separate embodiment the shortcut program 122 may be fully or partiallyintegrated with a specific application, or applications, and thereforeis initiated when the specific application is initiated. In such anembodiments, initiating an application may include opening of a webbrowser, an explorer window, a word processing document, an e-mailclient, a spreadsheet, a database application, or any other type ofelectronic interface.

In an example embodiment, shortcut program 122 receives user preferences124, by way of inputs from the user of computing device 110 via userinterface 126 and maps the grouping of documents to a shortcut input(S222). In another embodiment, default preferences may be stored as userpreferences 124. In the example embodiment, the user preferences includedefined shortcut inputs. A shortcut input is a single action that may beutilized by a user to access a document or several documents without theneed for multiple inputs (e.g. multiple mouse clicks/movements toperform a desired action). For example, a shortcut input may include ashortcut keystroke (e.g. ctrl+r) on a computer keyboard, a shortcutgesture on a multi-touch screen (e.g. spiral finger swipe), a shortcutmovement into a visual sensor (e.g. winking at a camera on a device), anaudio command into an audio sensor (e.g. speaking into a microphone), orany other type of single input into a computer.

The user preferences may also include desired results that maycorrespond to each shortcut input. In an example embodiment, the desiredresult may be grouping all of the opened documents based on user definedcriterion, such as, for example, document type, document location, dateof creation of document (e.g. by day, week, month, year), originator ofthe document, etc. In another embodiment, the desired result to beperformed by the shortcut input may be, for example, creating a virtualgroup to organize documents. A virtual group may be a temporary groupwhich the user can create and modify during a particular session. Forexample, the user may group various documents with a hard to definecriterion (e.g. documents related to a type of Patent Office rejection)as part of a single group.

Once the user preferences have been received, the shortcut program mapsthe shortcut input to the desired result. For example, the shortcutprogram 122 may map the grouping of e-mail documents by sender to theuser pressing a combination of buttons (e.g. ctrl+shift+s), so that whenthe user presses the button combination the e-mails are placed infolders, or tabs, based on the sender of the e-mail document.

In an example embodiment, shortcut program 122 detects the shortcutinput being utilized (S224), and creates a group or groups based on theuser preferences (S226). The group may be a virtual group that allows auser to manually define the documents associated, or a group or multiplegroups that may organize documents displayed on the user display 128.

In an example embodiment of the second shortcut method 220, shortcutprogram 122 may import documents into a group or multiple groups basedon the user preferences (S228). In an example embodiment, the shortcutprogram 122 may organize a set of opened email documents based on thesender, the date it was sent, file names associated with the emaildocument, document importance, etc.

In the example embodiment of the second shortcut method 220, shortcutprogram 122 may organize documents based on user preferences (S230). Insuch an embodiment, user preferences may sort the documents based on,for example, the date of creation of the document. In this exampleembodiment, each document in the group may be associated with a number,which may be used with a shortcut input from the user preferences thatmay allow for selection of a desired document when the group is open.

In another embodiment of the second shortcut method 220, shortcutprogram 122 may receive user input to import and organize documents in avirtual group (S229). In this embodiment, the shortcut program may allowthe user to input the documents into the group by, for example, using amouse to drag the desired document into the desired folder. This mayallow a user to manually manipulate documents that do not have an easilyrecognizable criterion.

In an example embodiment, shortcut program 122 may receive user input tomanually organize or manipulate documents, groups of documents (S232).For example, the user may select a group and close all documents in theselected group.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of components of computing device 110 andserver 140, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be appreciated that FIG. 4 provides only anillustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made.

Computing device 110 and server 140 include communications fabric 302,which provides communications between computer processor(s) 304, memory306, persistent storage 308, communications unit 312, and input/output(I/O) interface(s) 314. Communications fabric 302 can be implementedwith any architecture designed for passing data and/or controlinformation between processors (such as microprocessors, communicationsand network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, andany other hardware components within a system. For example,communications fabric 302 can be implemented with one or more buses.

Memory 306 and persistent storage 308 are computer-readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 306 includes random access memory(RAM) 316 and cache memory 318. In general, memory 306 can include anysuitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media.

The programs delay program 122, user preferences 124, user interface126, and user display 128 in computing device 110; and website 142 andstored files 144 in server 140 are stored in persistent storage 308 forexecution by one or more of the respective computer processors 304 viaone or more memories of memory 306. In this embodiment, persistentstorage 308 includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or inaddition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage 308 caninclude a solid state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device,read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),flash memory, or any other computer-readable storage media that iscapable of storing program instructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 308 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 308.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage308.

Communications unit 312, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices. In these examples,communications unit 312 includes one or more network interface cards.Communications unit 312 may provide communications through the use ofeither or both physical and wireless communications links. The programsdelay program 122, user preferences 124, user interface 126, and userdisplay 128 in computing device 110; and website 142 and stored files144 in server 140 may be downloaded to persistent storage 308 throughcommunications unit 312.

I/O interface(s) 314 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to computing device 110 and social mediaserver 140. For example, I/O interface 314 may provide a connection toexternal devices 320 such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/orsome other suitable input device. External devices 320 can also includeportable computer-readable storage media such as, for example, thumbdrives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Softwareand data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, e.g.,The programs delay program 122, user preferences 124, user interface126, and user display 128 in computing device 110; and website 142 andstored files 144 in server 140, can be stored on such portablecomputer-readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistentstorage 308 via I/O interface(s) 314. I/O interface(s) 314 can alsoconnect to a display 322.

Display 322 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be,for example, a computer monitor.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While steps of the disclosed method and components of the disclosedsystems and environments have been sequentially or serially identifiedusing numbers and letters, such numbering or lettering is not anindication that such steps must be performed in the order recited, andis merely provided to facilitate clear referencing of the method'ssteps. Furthermore, steps of the method may be performed in parallel toperform their described functionality.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating a computer usingshortcuts, the method comprising: a computing device receiving userpreferences including information detailing a first shortcut input; thecomputing device mapping the first shortcut input to one or moredocuments based on the received user preferences; the computing devicedetecting that the first shortcut input has been utilized; and thecomputing device displaying the one or more documents.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising responsive to detecting that the firstshortcut input has been utilized, the computing device creating a groupcomprising the one or more documents.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe step of the computing device mapping the first shortcut input to oneor more documents based on the received user preferences furthercomprises detecting the one or more documents being opened.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the group is created based on similaritiesdetermined between the one or more documents.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the one or more documents within the group are organized basedon the received user preferences, and each of the one or more documentswithin the group are mapped to a corresponding second shortcut input ofa plurality of second shortcut inputs.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe received user preferences further include information detailing themapping of the first shortcut input to an earlier opened document in adocument branch of a document tree.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe received user preferences further include information detailing themapping of a shortcut input to a list of documents input by a user.